Love Remains the Same
by Shrimpy Kay
Summary: It's been five days since she left, and Chuck thinks about what his life with her has been like.


I was inspired to write this for the angst competition, but I'm not sure if it's that angsty. But I'm entering it anyways. Remember to go to Brickroad's profile to vote, starting August 25.

Either way, it's an update.

Oh and also: It's really really short. And I might say that a lot, but this time I really mean it. As in, each paragraph is about two lines long. On the bright side, I finished it in record time.

Love Remains the Same -Gavin Rossdale

--

**A thousand times I've seen you standing **

**Gravity like lunar landing **

**You make me wanna run till I find you **

He stared at the other side of the bed, now empty. It had been that way for the past five days, and still he hoped that when he opened his eyes, she'd be there. But no matter how many times he looked away, the other side remained empty and lifeless, as though missing the one who used to sleep there every night.

**I shut the world away from here **

**I drift to you, you're all I hear **

**As everything we know fades to black **

Chuck had given her everything he had. No, they'd both given all that they had to try and make it work. But sometimes that wasn't enough. Sometimes things didn't go as planned; didn't always end up the way you wanted it to. It was a wonder that he'd even been able to function these past couple days. Sarah was his everything; his drug, his savior, his protector.

**Half the time the world is ending **

**Truth is I am done pretending **

"'Cause there are so few truths in this world, that when you see one, you just know it."

It was a quote from one of his favorite movies, Accepted. Even though it was a comedy, this one line always spoke to him. And no matter what anyone told him, no matter what any evidence said, these past months with Sarah was the realist thing possible in the world

**I never thought that I **

**Had anymore to give **

**You're pushing me so far **

**Here I am without you **

For the first twenty-eight years of his life, Chuck believed that every man had his limits. No matter how far you could go, there was always going to be some point where you could go no farther.

Until he was twenty-eight and one day. And that's when he learned that love could go beyond any limits; beyond the imagination. But he wasn't complaining—few men in the world got to experience what he experienced, he was just one of the lucky ones.

**Drink to all that we have lost **

**Mistakes we have made **

**Everything will change **

**But love remains the same **

He wondered what would happen if they hadn't agreed. If they had kept their thoughts secret. If he hadn't yelled about how she had to get close to marks, if she hadn't broken down because of their fight during a mission. If she hadn't gotten hurt because of her breakdown, and said it wasn't working out.

If he hadn't given in.

**I find a place where we escape **

**Take you with me for the space **

**The city buzz sounds just like a fridge **

Sitting down by the beach, feeling the sand between his toes, he wondered why he agreed. It was for her safety. If the thought of him distracted her and got her killed, he would never be able to live with himself. Now, Chuck wonders where she is. Was she still in town? Was she halfway around the country? And most importantly, would he ever see Sarah, the beautiful blonde who's captured his heart, ever again?

**I walk the streets through seven bars **

**I have to find just where you are **

**The faces seem to blur **

**They're all the same **

He decided sometime on the beach to go look for her. It was possible that she was still in the city, but where? Not at the beach, not on any of the streets that he ran so desperately though, not at the bar where he ended up, crying on one of the tables because of his mistake.

**Half the time the world is ending **

**Truth is I am done pretending **

Not surprisingly, he didn't find her. He drank a glass of scotch, and then got a taxi ride home. Chuck didn't want to return drunk; didn't want her leaving to make his life spiral down life it had after Jill.

Even though they gave it their all, he had no one to blame but himself. Could he have tried harder? Maybe they could've worked out… just maybe if—No, he stopped himself. They'd tried, and it hadn't worked out. Maybe in a couple of years, they'd meet again, and things would be different. They'd agreed that if they met again, it would be because of destiny, and they would continue their relationship. Chuck promised himself that if that ever happened, there would be nothing- absolutely nothing- that would break them apart.

**I never thought that I **

**Had anymore to give **

**You're pushing me so far **

**Here I am without you **

His emotions were so on and off. Half the time, Chuck wondered about every if and why he could. He knew that he loved Sarah, and always would. So why did things in his life always have to go wrong? Sometimes this led to anger; broken clocks and bruised hands. Other times it led to tears, staining his pillows and sheets.

**Drink to all that we have lost **

**Mistakes we have made **

**Everything will change **

**But love remains the same **

The other half of the time, Chuck thought about all of the good times with Sarah. All the days they spend talking, cuddling, loving. All the nights they'd spent in passion, falling asleep on top of each other.

Either way, there was never a moment in his life when he wasn't thinking about Sarah.

**So much more to say **

**So much to be done **

**Don't you trick me out **

**We shall overcome **

**It's all left still to play **

Walking in the door, he noticed something. Something that would usually pass quickly in his mind; something he would never care about. But her leaving made him more perceptive, and he's almost sure that it wasn't there before. A white envelope, sitting neatly placed on his kitchen counter. He was positive that she'd been here.

**We - we could have had the sun **

**Could have been inside **

**Instead we're over here **

_I'm so sorry, Chuck. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and although I want to run into your arms and forget about what happened, I can't. I couldn't handle worrying about you during a mission, knowing that if you died in my care, I would never be able to get through it. But I haven't given up on us. And I know that you haven't either. When this is all over, I'll find you and we can continue this. I don't care how long it takes; I will search the ends of the world for you._

_But until then, I can only hope that you forgive me. Because I will always love you, and my worst fear is that one day I will come back and you won't love me back._

**Half the time the world is ending **

**Truth is I am done pretending **

**Too much time too long defending **

**You and I are done pretending **

He wanted to throw the paper, rip it to pieces and then throw them into the air. But all he could do was hold the paper, hands shaking, eyes tearing as he recognized her handwriting. She'd been here. She'd been here and he's missed it. Why did he go out? He should have stayed, should have been there…

Looking towards the open kitchen window, he automatically knew that it wouldn't have mattered. She'd waited until he left; she'd been watching him.

**I never thought that I **

**Had anymore to give **

**You're pushing me so far **

**Here I am without you **

He sighed, getting ready for bed, despite that fact that it was only nine. Lately he liked to sleep; liked to travel to dream land where he could see her, feel her, touch her. And, although he would have to wake up and take a cold shower, it was worth it to be able to relive past memories with her. The fact that her smell still remained on her side of the bed was one of the greatest gifts he could get.

**Drink to all that we have lost **

**Mistakes we have made **

**Everything will change **

**Everything will change **

Chuck woke up to the bright sunlight. It poured in from the window he forgot to close. It was 7 AM, and time for another day at work. Although Big Mike pitied him, he could now allow Chuck days off for a breakup. He took a cold shower, and got dressed, all the while staring at the empty side of the bed.

Another day… another day without her.

**I, oh I, **

**I wish this could last forever **

**I, oh I, **

**as if this could last forever **

Some people would give up. Some people would say that Sarah betrayed him, left him to rot. But he wasn't like other people. He knew her reasons. She was not like everyone else; she had a separate mindset, which he understood. And although he cried for her each and every night, wishing that they could go back to the way it was before, he knew that he could not blame either of them for the way things ended up. All he could do was wait for her return, and promise himself that he would never ever stop loving Sarah Walker.

**Love remains the same **

**Love remains the same**


End file.
